Apparatus for purifying water.



No. 739,758. PATENTED SEPT. 22, 1903, A. SORGE, JR.

v APPARATUS PGR PURIFYING WATER.

APPLICATION FILED IBB. 18, 1901 RENBWED MAR. 1a, 1903.

v l1m MODEL IDI il USPS co mmmuwn.A wsnmcrron,

p No. 739,758.

UNrrnD vS'rnfries Patented September 22, 1903.

--ATENT FFICE APPARATUS FOR PURlFYiNG WATER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 739,758, dated September 22, 1903.

Application led February 18, 1901. Renewed March 13, 1903. Serial No. 147.621. (No muriel.)l f

fying apparatus in which the impurities that it is desired to be rid of are brought down or collected by the chemical action of reagents supplied for theppurpose and afterward removed from the chemically-treated water by filtration-as shown, for example, in my patent for improvements in lWater-purifying apparatus, No, 683,349, of September 24, 190l.`

This latter operation of course requires the removal of the precipitates from time to time as they accumulate, and much difficulty has been found in successfully accomplishing such removal in apparatus of the character under consideration, owing largely to the fact that the deposit takes place to a considerable extent within the iuterstices of the material of which the filter-bed is composed in the form of a crust or scale which must be broken up before it can be washed away.

The object of the invention is to render this breaking up of the sealy deposit readily possible, and to this end I provide a iiexible filterbed which if thrown upon the floor or subjected to being trodden upon willyield and change shape to such an extent as to cause a material shifting and rearranging of the particles of the filter sufficient to completely break up the scale formed between them and permit it to be readily Washed out.

The invention consists in the matters herein set forth, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, and will be understood from the following description of the construction set forth in the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure lis a side elevation of the feedwa ter-purifying apparatus provided with my present improvements, and Fig..2 is a top plan section thereof.

In said drawings, 1 designates a feed-Water heater of the open type or variety; 2, the supply-pipe, which discharges the feed-Water into the upper end of said heater; 3, the outlet-pipe, leading from the heater to the boilers, (not herein illustrated,) ands; and 5 the inlet and exhaust pipes, through which the exhaust-steam from the engine is supplied to and conducted from the heater. The latter maybe of any usual or desired construction, it being herein shown as provided at its upper portion with a, series of inclined trays 6, upon the uppermost one of which the cold feed-water entering'through the supply-pipe 2 is discharged to vflow in a shallow stream over the succeeding lower trays subject to the heating influence of the surrounding atmosphere of exhaust-steam until it finally falls from the lowermost tray in a heated condition and collects in the lower portion of the heater, ready to be drawn off through the outlet-pipe 3, leading to the boilers. Any suitable float 7, controlling the valve 8 in the Water-supply pipe through appropriate intermediate connections 9, may be provided to regulatethe admission of the feed-Water in accordance with the rate at which it is drawn off to the boilers and in such manner as to maintain the water-level Within the heater substantially constant.

The chemical treatment of the feed-Water is herein shown as accomplished by the provision of a chemical-tank 10, in which the desired reagent is placed and which is supplied with water under pressure from a suitable source conveniently through a connection 11, leading from the supply-pipe 2. The water entering through this connection becomes impregnated with the reagent and is then discharged back into the feed-Water through a pipe 12, in which a sight-feed 13 is provided to enable its dow to be visually located.

In general the apparatus as thus far described is similar to that disclosed in my Patent No. 683,349, of September 24E, 1901, hereinbefore referred to. The details of its oo nstruction have in themselves no particular relation to the present improvement, which more especially concerns the lter-bed of this character of apparatus. This filter-bed 14,

by which the precipitates brought down by the action of the reagent are separated out from the feed-water which passes to the boil ers, is under this improvement made flexible-as, for example, by providinga layer of roo crushed quartz or like material in suitable sacks or bags 15 of burlap or other strong coarse flexible material, these sacks being of such Ashape and so arranged that they completely fill or pave, as it were, the bottom p0rtion of the filter where they are located. Such of the precipitates as collect above these bags can be washed away by means of a hose when the heater is opened up for the purpose. Such Washing would, however, not ordinarily Aremove the scaly deposit formed between the particles of which the filter-bed `is composed, owing to its being more or less hidden and protected from the direct action of the jet from the hose; but it is only necessary to remove the sacks and drop them roughly upon the loor or to tread vigorously upon them, either while in the heater or after their removal from the heater, in order to so stir up, knead, and generally shift the position of the particles Within them as to completely break up and disintegrate the scaly'deposit of chemically-precipitated impurities, so that they gay thereafter be readily washed out by t-he ose.

vcapable of manipulation to break up any sealy deposit which may form within the body otltering material.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix my signature, in presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 11th day of February, A. D. 1901. i

A. soRGE, JR.

Witnesses:

HENRY W. CARTER, SWAN JoHNsoN. 

